Fifty-eight kindergartners signed up for the county’s first public-school Mandarin Chinese immersion program during an extra-early enrollment period, the Capistrano Unified School District announced Monday.

The school district offered an uncharacteristically early application period between Dec. 1 and Dec. 9.

Thalia Tong, one of the parents leading the effort to start the program, reacted to the news: “That’s exciting. I have mixed emotions, though, because I want everybody to get in. It’s definitely a great start.”

The 58 applicants do not include any transfers from other school districts, said CUSD spokesman Marcus Walton.